i took the bus out of Wellington up to a small town on the west coast called Hawera. from there i continued up the coast on the "surf highway" as it is known for the uncrowded beaches with good surf. in the distance i could see the famous Mt. Taranaki,
a perfectly symmetrical volcanic mountain which resembles Mt. Fuji in Japan. i spent one night in a small surf town known as Opunake, this is one of my favorite places so far in New Zealand because of the small laid back community and it's beautiful beaches. i could have spent more days relaxing at this place, although i carried on to New Plymouth the capital city of the Taranaki region. as i was on the outskirts of town i stopped to take a picture of a vineyard and a old guy rode up next to me on his bike and inquired about my travels. he was out on a Sunday afternoon ride and we continued to ride together into town and he then kindly invited me to set up my tent in his back yard which i happily accepted. the musician Jack Johnson was playing at a famous outdoor venue this night so i decided to go down to the park where he was playing to see if i could get into the show. it was not sold out but the tickets were more than i was going to spend. so instead i hung out with some people who were sitting on the lawn just outside the concert area. we could hear the music very well considering we did not pay to get in.
i hope to be able to explore Mt. Taranaki before i leave this area, probably wont be able to summit the peak since i don't have the proper mountaineering equipment to get to the top. and they wont rent it to you unless you take a guide, which they charge 300$ for. apparently several people die each year on the mountain so i don't want to test my luck. there is a three day hike around the base of the mountain that has huts to stay in which sounds fun. the guy i am staying with has been up the mountain many times so it has been good to gather information from him. will wait and see what comes together for the next few days.
Bon Voyage!
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| on the way to Taranaki |
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| surf highway |
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| Opunake beach |
